Here's The SCOOP (Editorial)

Here’s The SCOOP

If there is a state of mind that winter seems to encourage more than any other, it must be stoicism. January is to be endured. February is a month-long test of our capacity for abnegation. Which is not to deny the season’s majestic beauty and many joyful opportunities. But even they test our resolve before yielding their icy diversions. Few things are more enjoyable in winter for instance than skating on a pond or the quiet bay of a lake. But only very rarely is the ice naturally smooth and free of snow. Anyone who has maintained a backyard rink knows that decent ice takes hours of shovelling and flooding in sub-zero temperatures.

It is therefore fitting that this current issue gives pride of place to some of these challenging pursuits. Few can equal ice-climbing in sheer stoicism. Climbing itself seems to be a risky way to test the iron law of gravity. Add to it freezing temperatures and slippery ice, and, well, we’ll admire the feat from down here, thank you very much. But it’s hard to think of a more graceful, fiercely beautiful winter sport.

Winter camping is not for the faint of heart either, although it at least tends to stick to horizontal surfaces. And, as one of our articles reveals, there are ways to actually enjoy spending time in a tent when there is half a metre of snow outside.

For the less stoic among us, we have articles on affordable housing and community solutions, historical writing, food security and the importance of seeds, museum exhibits, library promotions, winter-themed poetry, and much more.